Octave-coupler for accordions.



J. GALLBAZZI. OCTVE COUPLER FOR AGCORDIONS.

APPLIOATION FILED sBPT.13, 1911.

1,()5 1,398. Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0..\vAsmNnToN. n. c.

UNITED STATES lrnrnivr OFFICE.

JOSEPH GALLEAZZI, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

OCTAVE-COUPLER FOR ACCORDIONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led September 13, 1911.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

Serial No. 649,112.

To al whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH GALLEAZZI, a citizen of the United States,residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Octave-Couplersfor Accordions, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in musical instruments,such as accordions, which are played by means of keys, and the object ofthe invention is to provide, in such an instrument, means whereby, withthe depression of any key or keys, there shall be played, simultaneouslywith the note or notes corresponding to said key or keys, the octavesthereof, either above or below.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a plan view of a sounding boardof an accordion constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is aside view of a key board thereof, the sounding board being shown insection: Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3 3 of Figs. 1 and2, the parts being shown in the position in which the coupling mechanismis not used; Fig. 4l: is a partial section similar to Fig. 3, a keylever operated, but the coupling mechanism riot used; Fig. 5 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 4f showing a valve raised by the use of the couplingmechanism; Figs. 6 and 7 are detail sectional views.

Referring to the drawings, l indicates a frame of an accordion havingattached thereto a sounding board 2 and a key board 3. Pivoted at L tomove within recesses 5 in said key board are key levers 6, arrangedalternately in two rows. From the lower portions of said key levers pins8 extend toward the sounding board, and enter sleeves 9 secured upon theends of actuator rods 10, which are first bent outwardly from saidsleeves, as shown at l1, and then in a plane parallel to that of saidsounding board, as shown at 12. The ends of said rods 10 remote from thekeys are flattened and slotted, as shown at 13, and through each slotpasses a screw 14, screwed to the upper end of an upward extension l5from a valve 16, which is depressed by a coiled spring 17 to close an-opening 18 in the sounding board, which openings are adjacent to reeds,not shown.

To each valve is secured an upwardly eX- tending yoke or staple 20 andthrough the staples thus extended from the valves corresponding to notesan octavo apart pass arms 21. These arms are the terminal portions ofwire rods, the mediate portions of which form rock shafts 22 containedin two longitudinally movable trough-shaped bearings 23. At the ends ofeach mediate portion of the wire rod, thus forming the rock shaft, thewire rod is bent, first, at right angles to the plane of said bearings,then back on itself to form abutments 24, and then extended at rightangles to itself and the direction of the bearings to form said arms 21.Said rock shafts are suitably secured in said bearings by straps 25. Toeach rod l0 is secured a lug 26, which lugs, when not required toproduce an octave by the depression of a single key, are, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2, each midway between two adjacent abutments 24, but when,by means presently to be described, said bearings, and the rock shaftstherein, are shifted in one direction or the other, said lugs are alsothen opposite each to the abutment on the corresponding side, as shownin Figs. G and 7. If, when a lug iS in the latter position, opposite toone or the other of said abutments, the corresponding key lever bedepressed, then, not only is the valve opened, and the note soundedcorresponding to said key lever, but one of the two rock shafts havingabutments closely adjacent to said lug, and extending in oppositedirection therefrom, is rocked, the arm eX- tending from the other endof said rock shaft parallel with the sounding board then raising theyoke, and also the valve of the octave above or below, as the case maybe.

On the back of the key board there are secured bearings 30, in which canslide a slideframe 31, the end 32 of which is located to actuate a lever33, the other end of which lever engages a forked standard 34: upon aplate 35 secured to corresponding ends of both bearings 23, the otherends of said bearings being secured to a plate 36. Said plates 35, 36are formed with slots 37 parallel with said bearings, through whichslots pass screws 38 screwed into supports 39 upon which said bearingscan move. It will thus be seen that, by moving said slide frame in onedirection or the other, the bearings 23 are likewise so moved. From theslide-frame 81 depends a pin 40, which is adapted to be received in anyone of three notches 41, formed on the end of a spring plate 42, secured.on the back of the key board. By engagement with any one of the notchessaid frame is held stationary against accidental displacement. Then thepin 40 engages the middle notch, the frame, and the bearings are in sucha position that each lug 26 on the rods 10 is midway between the twoabutments 24: of the adjacent pair thereof, so that no octave is soundedupon pressing the corresponding key lever. When the slideframe is movedin one direction, and the key lever is depressed, not only is the notesounded corresponding to the said key-lever, but also the octavethereof, and when in the other direction, the other octave.

The slots in the ends of the rods 10 permit the octave of a` note to besounded, without the rod 10 of the latter note in its turn causing thesounding of the second octave.

1 claim 1. A reed musical instrument comprising key levers, rods engagedat one end by said key levers, and slotted at the other end, a soundingboard having corresponding openings therethrough, corresponding valvesfor controlling said openings having extensions movable in therespective slots, but arranged to be actuated by said slotted ends toopen the respective valves, means, independent of said slotted ends andarranged to be actuated by other than the corresponding keys, foropening said valves.

2. A reed musical instrument comprising key levers, a sounding boardhaving openings therethrough, valves for said openings, operativeconnections for actuating said valves by meansof key levers, upwardlyextending staples secured to the respective valves, shafts extendinglongitudinally of the sounding board, each having at one end an armpassing through a corresponding staple closely adjacent an upper portionthereof, and means operated by the key levers for actuating the otherends of said shafts.

3. A reed musical instrument comprising a sounding board having a row ofopenings therethrough, valves for controlling said openings, key levers,actuator rods operated by said key levers, said valves being providedwith means whereby they can bev operated direct by said rods, a lug oneach actuator rod, rock shafts one on each side of each actuator rod andextending in a direction transverse thereto, each rock shaft having anarm adjacent to said rod, another arm of each rock shaft beingoperatively connected to a valve to raise the same upon the operation ofthe rock shaft, and means whereby all the rock shafts on one side or theother of said rods can be shifted to bring the corresponding first-namedarms into operative relation with the lugs on said rods to be actuatedthereby in the operative movement of said rods.

4. A reed musical instrument comprising a sounding board having a row ofopenings therethrough, valves for controlling said openings, key levers,actuator rods operated by said key levers, said valves being providedwith means whereby they can be operated direct by said rods, a lug oneach actuator rod, rock shafts, one on each sideof each actuator rod andextending in a direction transverse thereto, each rock shaft having anarm adjacent to said rod, another arm of each rock shaft beingoperatively connected to a valve to raise the same upon the operation ofthe rock shaft, a longitudinal bearing for said rock shafts, and meansfor moving said bearing and the rock shafts contained therein in eitherlongitudinal direction as desired, to move corresponding arms intooperative relation to the lugs on the rods to be operated thereby in theoperative movement of the latter.

5. A reed musical instrument comprising a sounding board having aplurality of rows of reed openings therethrough, valves for controllingthe respective openings, key levers, actuator rods for the respectivelevers, operative connections between said actuator rods and the valves,whereby the operation of the key levers raises the valves, lugs on saidactuator rods, lifters on said valves, longitudinally movablelongitudinal bearings, rock shafts therein, two for each actuator rod,each rock shaft having at each end a part arranged to be engaged by alug on an actuator rod, and a part engaging a lifter on a valve to liftthe same, said first-named parts of all the actuator rods being normallyout of the path of said lugs in the operative movement of said rods, andmeans for shifting said shafts in either longitudinal directiontransverse to said rods to move said first named parts at thecorresponding ends of said shafts into the paths of said lugs.

6. A reed instrument comprising a sounding board having a plurality ofrows of openings therethrough, valves for controlling said openings, keylevers, actuator rods arranged to be operated by said key levers,operative connections between said valves and the actuator rods, lugs onsaid actuator rods, lifters on said valves, bearings, longitudinal rockshafts therein, each rock shaft having at each end a part arranged to beengaged by said lug to operate the rock shaft, and a part operativelyconnected to a lifter on the valve to raise the same, and In testimonywhereof I have hereunto set means for moving said bearings longitudimyhand in the presence of tWo subscribing nelly in either longitudinaldirection to Witnesses.

move the first-named parts of corresponding JOSEPH GALLEAZZI. ends onall of said rock shafts into the paths Witnesses:

of the lugs on the actuator rods to be en- FRANCIS M. WRIGHT,

gaged thereby. D. B. RICHARDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patenti, Washington, D. C.

